Of bad luck, scarves and falling in love
by xBits
Summary: Midorima Shintarou is a calm, stoic person. He never panics. Even when Oha Asa morning horoscope announces that Scorpio has the worst luck for the day? Okay, then he might, you know, panic just a little...


Disclaimer: If I owned Kuroko no basuke...yeah, let's not even go there...

* * *

Midorima Shintarou wakes up every day at 6:00 a.m. straight, watches Oha Asa morning horoscope while simultaneously making himself a breakfast, brushes his teeth, combs his hair to the left, puts on his school uniform and, if he doesn't have the lucky item for the day at hand, heads out to a nearby store to get one. He then waits for Takao to pick him up and drive him to school. This is his morning routine and he isn't planning on changing it one bit. Not unless it is a matter of life or death. Or if Akashi calls. But that easily falls under the mentioned category.

So Midorima Shintarou does _not_ panic when a sickeningly sweet female voice announces: "The one with the worst luck for today...Sorry, it's you Scorpio! A very bad day is ahead of you. Make sure to keep your lucky item, a blue scarf, with you all the time and the day might not turn out so terrible after all!"

He isn't, he really isn't panicking but Takao is driving him to school and what if his bad luck somehow transfers to him as well and they end up in an accident and break an arm or a leg and end up not being able to play basketball for months. Midorima is not paranoid, thank you very much. He just lives by the 'better safe than sorry' philosophy which has worked splendidly for him for years so there!

So Midorima drops the knife he had been slicing the bread with on the kitchen counter, dresses up somewhat messily (as much as Midorima has the capacity for being anything less than perfectly neat and organized) and dashes out of the front door like a maniac.

When he's out on the street he remembers that he has a reputation to uphold so he reverts back to his usual cool demeanor in a matter of milliseconds. He heads down the street to the small accessory shop, praying that they will have a blue scarf there.

A few minutes later he is indeed looking at a blue scarf bundled up on one of the shop's numerous shelves. The only problem is – his face is pressed against the cold, slightly wet glass and the sign on the door reads 'closed for maintenance' and Midorima thinks he must have heard something wrong in the horoscope: Maybe it wasn't Scorpio that had the worst luck at all. Maybe it was Cancer. It would sure make sense since he didn't even remember to take his luck item, a can of Shiruko, with him and God knows he has a whole cupboard filled with them at home!

After he had checked all the other shops in the neighbourhood with no luck whatsoever he looks at his watch and realizes the clock's hands are moving at a dangerously high speed towards the number 7 which is coincidentally the time Takao arrives to pick him up every day, meaning that he has most likely left his house already and is now on his way.

Midorima forgets all about keeping the cool head and sprints up the narrow alley, where the last shop he tried is located, to his house just in time to watch the clock's hands hit 7 a.m.

Five minutes later there is still no sign of Takao and Midorima is definitely panicking right now and he's not even trying to deny it. He tries calling Takao but gets no response. He wills himself to wait another 5 minutes.

He doesn't last one.

Midorima breaks into run and a few seconds later he's already racing down the second street on his way to Takao's house when he hears it:

"Oi! Shiiin-chan! Shin-chan, where are you going?!"

Midorima looks over to the other side of the street, and sure enough, there is Takao with his dopey grin waving at him like all is right in the world. Midorima runs over to him and promptly smacks him over the head, demanding:

"Where the hell have you been?!"

"Ow! Calm down, Shin-chan. I just overslept," Takao says calmly, but Midorima can tell he's a bit annoyed at getting hit so early in the morning. Not that he cares or anything.

"I tried calling you. Why didn't you answer?" he demands further.

"Ah, sorry. The battery died," Takao answers, looking sheepish.

Midorima sighs. He should have known. Leave it to Takao to mess up people's mornings...or people's lives...or their heads. If you ask Midorima, Takao is a walking disaster. He makes everything into a mess. And Midorima doesn't like mess. He doesn't like it one bit. And this particular mess is now looking at him with piercing blue eyes, all-knowing in all their glory while a self-satisfied smirk graces his features. Midorima knows whatever comes out of Takao's mouth after he has made that face won't be something he'll like but even so, he can't help thinking that that very face is the one that suits Takao the best.

"Shin-chan ," Takao draws out in a low, sensual voice that sends shivers down Midorima's spine. And said shivers have nothing to do with Takao's voice at all, it's just that he knows what's going to follow and he is not prepared for it.

Takao voice has a teasing note in it when he asks: "You were worried about me, right?"

Midorima pales, but reacts quickly. Perhaps too quickly.

"What nonsense are you spouting, Takao?"

"You were going to my house, right? No, no, no. You were _running _towards my house."

".. No, I wasn't. "

Takao looks at him expectantly, waiting for further elaboration.

"I was...jogging," Midorima manages, completely aware of how lame his excuse is.

Takao's smirk has never been bigger. "In your school uniform? At 7 in the morning, in the direction of my house, just when I should be coming to pick you up and drive you to school? My, my, it's not good to lie, Shin-chan."

Midorima is pretty sure his face is very much red by now so he simply averts his gaze from Takao and growls:

"Shut up, Takao!"

Midorima's face isn't any less red when he sits down in the rickshaw and reluctantly asks:

"Takao? Do you know any stores around here where you could buy a scarf?"

He thanks God that Takao doesn't turn to look at him because anything seems better than making an eye contact with the source of his troubles at the moment.

"A scarf? " Takao repeats, sounding uninterested. "Why would you need a scarf? It's a bit chilly sure but it's not really that cold."

"Just answer the question," Midorima grunts.

"Yes, yes your highness," Takao teases lightly, before continuing: "There is one about five streets away from here. They've got quite a collection, you know. Well, winter's coming up so it's not really a surprise. I'm thinking of buying one myself, you never know with this weather..."

Takao keeps on rambling until Midorima's demanding voice interrupts his monologue:

"Take me there!"

"Huh? Fine we can go after schoo-"

"No, we're going now!" Midorima declares, like there's no room for argument there.

"But we'll be late," Takao reasons, probably baffled at the thought of Midorima _willingly_ being late for class.

"I don't care. Hurry up!"

Takao shrugs and makes a left turn, navigating through narrow alleys before finally coming out on the main street. He drives all the way to the shop, then turns to look at still slightly red Midorima.

"Shin-chan, are you okay? Your face is kinda red, do you have a cold?"

But he doesn't sound concerned at all and, even though he's trying to keep a straight face, Midorima can easily tell that Takao knows very well the reason behind his flushed appearance, if just by that teasing look in his eyes.

"Shut up, I'm fine. Wait here," Midorima commands before getting out of the rickshaw and walking into the shop.

'_Takao didn't lie, they really do have quite a collection,_' Midorima muses. He looks around hastily, rummaging through unorganized piles of scarves all the while thinking to himself how the shop owner should really do something about the matters of organization, if not only to improve the shop's image, then to save the hurrying customers such as himself their precious time.

Finally, he finds it. Of course it had to be at the very bottom of the very last pile he searched. These kinds of things always happen if he doesn't have his lucky item with him.

He pays the cashier and walks out of the shop, turning only to mumble "keep the change". He can see her smiling at that, apparently he left quite an amount. He soon finds that he doesn't care.

"So, did you get it?" asks Takao, looking up at the sky, sounding bored yet again. "Took you long enough."

When Midorima doesn't answer he shifts his gaze to look questioningly at the bespectacled teen but the said teen averts his eyes from Takao, apparently deciding that his feet are a much more entertaining sight.

Midorima didn't really have time to think this through but he's starting to think that it wasn't such a great idea after all. How in the God's name is he supposed to give Takao the scarf and not make it look weird?

"Oi! Shin-chan? We gonna go or what?" Takao narrows his eyes at Midorima, obviously trying to decipher him.

He settles on the direct approach.

Midorima takes a few determined steps towards Takao, takes out the scarf, forces it into the brunette's hands and orders:

"Wear this."

Takao looks at him in utter confusion: "Why?"

"It doesn't matter, just wear it."

Takao examines the scarf for a moment and a look of realization suddenly dawns on his face. Midorima knows that this isn't going to be good when a sly smirk finds his way on his teammate's face.

"Shiiin-chan" Takao draws out in a teasing voice. "This scarf is blue."

"Yes. And?"

"And you're giving it to me?"

"What's your point?"

Takao's smirk grows wider than Midorima would think is humanly possible: "Shin-chan, what would you say if I told you I watched Oha Asa this morning?"

Midorima freezes. His brain is still working, though, desperately searching for any believable excuse it could possibly muster. When he can't find any at all, he grits his teeth and begins praying for it to be over as soon as possible.

"I-I-I...You're driving me to school!" he blurts out.

"Huh?" Takao looks everything but amused. "Shin-chan, the truth, please. Out with it."

Midorima frowns: "It _is_ the truth!" he insists. "You're driving and you have the worst luck today! Imagine what could happen. We could get in an accident. Or worse!" he rants.

Just for a moment, he thinks Takao is going to buy it but then, to his horror, the boy smiles. Not his usual smirk too. He's just smiling with this gentle look in his eyes and Midorima wants badly to find it creepy or disgusting but he feels the heat rushing to his cheeks and averts his eyes once again. '_I'd definitely find it disgusting if I had only taken a good look at it. That's it! It was too disturbing for me to even look at it properly_,' he tries to convince himself.

"Shin-chan," Takao says in a soft voice, the teasing note gone. "Where is your lucky item for today?"

'_Damn him,' _Midorima fumes_._

"I-I haven't had a chance to get it yet," he tries.

Takao still has that goddamn smile on his face: "Riiight. You haven't had a chance to get a can of your favourite drink, which is, by the way, practically the only other thing you drink besides water, out of the cupboard in your kitchen which I know for a fact is always filled with them."

Midorima gulps. '_Why did it have to be today of all days that Takao decided to watch Oha Asa? Did the fate really hate him that much?'_

"Shin-chan," Takao prods.

Midorima is completely aware of how utterly lame he is going to sound but he's really got nothing else left so he squeezes out what is probably the most tsundere line in the history of all tsundere lines ever spoken, written or imagined:

"It- it's not like I was worried about you or anything."

Takao regards him with an unreadable expression on his face for a second, maybe less, and then bursts out laughing. Midorima seriously wishes he had just kept his mouth shut.

Minutes pass one by one but Takao is still laughing and, while Midorima is annoyed beyond words, he can't help wondering if Takao is having a hysteria attack and if he is going to have to get help.

When 5 minutes have passed and Takao is still laughing, Midorima can't take it anymore.

"Oi! Takao! Stop it. Could you stop it?"

He receives no response. His voice is getting a bit shaky when he calls out to Takao again:

"O-oi! Takao? Seriously, _can_ you stop?"

Takao lets out a few more chuckles before replacing his laughing face with a big grin. Not that Midorima sees this as much of an improvement.

"Aww, you were worried about me again, Shin-chan. Sorry for making you worry."

And just like that, Midorima is red as a tomato once again: "It's not like...I wasn't-"

Takao looks at him with bright, smiling, if slightly mischievous eyes. And that stupid smile is plastered on his stupid face once again.

"It's okay, Shin-chan. I promise I won't tease you anymore," Takao smiles.

Midorima grunts and gets into the rickshaw, not looking at Takao even once. He'd never admit it but he's a bit grateful to Takao for letting it go for now even if he knows he's never really going to live it down with him around. But somehow, he doesn't mind as much as he probably should. And it must be the fact that he didn't get nearly enough sleep last night, that it's so early in the morning and that he still doesn't have his lucky item with him but Midorima even dares to think for a second that '_yes, maybe that smile really was cute after all_.'

Takao has hardly started pedalling when he turns to look at Midorima: "Hey, Shin-chan, guess what?"

"What?"

"I speak tsundere!" Takao exclaims proudly, smiling from ear to ear.

Midorima stares at him blankly for a second, then just sighs and thinks: '_Definitely not cute at all!'_

"Hey, Shin-chan!"

"What is it now?" Midorima grumbles, irritated out of his skin.

"Catch!"

Takao throws something at him, which he, of course, catches without batting an eye. He then realizes he is holding a can of Shiruko. He looks up only to find Takao smiling one of his many smiles at him.

'_Then again...'_

Days turn into weeks and weeks into months and it's nearly springtime now but Takao insists on wearing the stupid scarf wherever he goes. It didn't bother Midorima all that much at first. But then he started noticing – _things. _Things that he has, if he were to be completely honest with himself, probably been noticing for some time now but now they have become a downright bother and he's sick of it.

The way Takao pulls that stupid scarf over a half of his face, closes his eyes and sighs in contentment and Midorima can't see his mouth but can tell he is smiling.  
The way he acts all irritated one day, wearing a red scarf loosely around his neck, so that it barely touches his skin and says something about the oh-so-stupid convention of clothes having to be washed once in a while even when they're not dirty in the least and don't smell.  
The way he takes off the scarf, stands on his tiptoes and drapes it clumsily around Midorima's neck on the rare days that he forgets his own.

And he's smiling. He's smiling all-the-damn-time. Be it genuine smiles, wicked grins, knowing smirks accompanied by that mischievous glint in his eyes or even the slightest quirk of his lips, Midorima can't take it anymore.

He's falling in love with that smile.

It takes him months to admit and a few more to process but he's slowly coming to terms with it.

So when the weather forecast predicts 20°C for the next day and Takao announces with a heavy heart and dramatic sigh that he would not be able to wear his treasured scarf anymore Midorima does the most spontaneous, stupid and potentially dangerous thing he's probably ever done in his sixteen years of living:

He grabs the scarf tied securely around Takao's neck, yanks him closer and crashes his lips onto his.

The shorter boy doesn't respond and Midorima opens his eyes slowly, keeping his lips pressed lightly to Takao's, expecting to see a shocked expression in his eyes.

But Takao's eyes are closed and for a second, nothing makes sense to Midorima anymore but then he hears a low chuckle escape the brunette's lips and suddenly he can feel him smiling against his lips.

"Took you long enough."

Midorima almost growls at that but he doesn't get a chance.

Takao is kissing him.

* * *

Author's note: So, yeah... Takao's gonna get wrinkles young.

By the way, this is the first fanfiction I've written after lurking around for about two years. Don't feel you need to be too nice, though. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.


End file.
